Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It was a long uphill battle to get my slider to wake up after a looooooooooooooooong fall and winter... Now she's either in the water or buried. It's driving me nuts! I heard that if a turtle doesn't bask its shell gets soft. True, not true? I'm putting in a link to a picture of something common to see every day with her.

http://www.pbase.com/image/17122645

Your turt has such beautiful eyes! (BTW, your parakeet pix is very amusing.) One of my turts used to bury himself under the gravel when I just got him. I have since removed all the gravel from the tank. Guess what, he doesn't/can't do that any more! I have 2 hide boxes in the tank in case they crave some privacy. Have you tried "forced basking", i.e. putting him in a smaller enclosure with minimal water and a raised platform under a basking lamp for a couple of hours a day?

sometimes, if your water is too warm, turtles will not get out cause they don't need to bask.

Keep in mind that they are cold blooded. They will go from water to the basking area, as needed to regulate body temp. If they can keep warm enough in the water, they will likely stay there.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! ppl said my turtle wouldn't stop hibernating b/c my water was too cold. now it's too warm. arg. I am SO not a reptile person :-/ too bad I love the silly little thing so much. I think I'm going to take out some of her gravel. If she can't bury ALL the way, maybe she'll change her mind.

I have no gravel in my tank. Some people have had their turtles eat the gravel. Mine are timid enough that they dive in when I get my hand near the tank, but they're far from shy, and never want to hide.

Your water should be about 78 degrees and your basking area around 95-98...at least that's what works well for my turtles. Make sure and check it to be sure it's right.